I am truly sad. I used up my very last SI blade. I had been holding on to it for quite some time and I finally decided to use it. I used for about 5 shaves too. typically blades only last 2 - 4, and my SI blades last for 4 good shaves. So I am in my search to find the next best or closest blade to the SI. I have used: LORD Gillette Black, Yellow, Green and the Super Thins Persona Sharp Perma-Sharp Astra (which are not that bad actually) Feather Doroco So I am looking for a consensus here as to which blades are the closest to the SI's
I have some SI but i even find that my Perma sharpes provide a better shave for me. They are very much alike but i found the Permasharps to me a little smoother. Of course YMMV but i would recommend those.
Oh, and in my own opinion, Gillette Yellows & Blacks are the closest in terms of sharpness + smoothness of a SI blade.
So far I have resisted the urge to try anything that was not vintage and discontinued. So I have no feeling of loss. But I do feel bad for you.
If I remember right, weren't a number of people snapping up Polsilver blades because they were extremely close, if not identical.?
Yeah the Polsilver Super Iridiums would imply that they are nearly identical if not the same exact blade. But are they?
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...up-to-speed-Polsilver-Iridium-gt-relationship No. You might find this interesting reading.
Never thought they were identical, however even here on TSD there were a number of members who loaded up on Polsilvers when SI's became super scarce and seemed to use them happily without complaint. Hmmm, I'm just sticking to Voskhods - still manufactured and a fantastic blade for me.
I've only tried one Iridium Super, and only one PolSilver (not PolSilver SI) and I found them to be nearly identical. I did get more shaves from the IS (11 vs. 9 for the PS), but the IS gave me slightly more irritation.
I have a few hundred Polsilver for when my iridiums run out I think I have about 25 left , but I prefer the polsilvers anyways.
It's funny, Super Iridium blades falling out of production reminds me of a parallel in the photography world - Kodachrome film no longer being made. Most people didn't know about these supposedly antiquated products, but those that did were absolutely heartbroken, as their best tools were no longer being made. Sad.
Shoebox Shaveshop sells the Polsilver Super Iridium. I remember the forums going on about how they had been discontinued, but was told by a distributor that it was simply a change in sales channels. Looks like all the "shavepocalypse" nonsense was incorrect.
I have found several "suitable" replacements, but none give me the longevity that Iridiums gave. The 7-O'clock ninjas (blue, yellow, black), Rapiras, Voskhods, and SuperMax SS, and even Polsilvers all approach Iridiums, but none equal or surpass them IMHO. I prefer to use the lower cost Rapiras, voskhods and SuperMax SS and change them out twice as often.
My vote would be for the Russian Perma Sharps, or the Gillette Blacks . But I've never tried a SI, so I really have no basis for my comparison other than what I've read.
The Gillette black label and blue label 7 O'clock Super Platinums seem to be very popular, and give me 12-14 very smooth shaves per blade. I find them great performers in all the razors in they have been used. Often that is with minor irritation, but with none at all in a Gillette Slim. The Polsilvers and Iridium Supers both give me four baby bottom smooth shaves per blade, but with no irritation whatsoever. For me, the Derby Extra and Polsilver blades in the Merkur 34C were equivalent overall to the absolutely stellar Iridium Supers. In the Edwin Jagger DE89L, the CVS and Walgreens store brand blades (same as Personna Doulbe Edge Platinum Chrome), Lord Extra and Silver Star Super Stainless give the same shaves and longevity as the Iridium Supers in the Merkur. What happened to the Rapiras? The Rapira Platinum Lux, Rapira Swedish Supersteel and Rapira Super Steel used to garner high praise on the forums and were widely available. Now they receive scant mention on the forums, although they are still available. Some of the online stores that used to carry them no longer do so. But if you give them thumbs up, I will have to try them and see how they shave.
